BBD 04.26.05 A Second Chance
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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04.26.05
A Second Chance
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise, go
to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell
you." - Jonah 3:1.
We know the story of Jonah because most of us have heard it from the time we
were little kids. God called Jonah to go Nineveh and preach to them because
if they did not change their ways God was going to destroy them. Jonah did
not want any part of it. Instead of going to Nineveh, he went the other way
on a ship to Tarshish. A storm came up and Jonah convinced the sailors that
he was the cause of the problem and they threw him overboard. A great fish
that God had prepared swallowed Jonah. Why did Jonah do that? Because Jonah
preferred death to going to that evil place of Nineveh and preaching God's
message.
To understand Jonah's reasoning we must understand the Ninevites. The people
of Nineveh were evil if ever there were any evil people. The Ninevites did
bad things to people on purpose like skinning them alive. Jonah not only
hated the people of Nineveh but I think we can say that the prospect of
going to Nineveh made Jonah shake in his sandals.
Thinking about being a missionary always conjured up for me images of Africa
and places like Zimbabwe. Recently I actually had the joy of meeting a man
who had been a missionary to Zimbabwe for many years. He had a different
view of the place than I. He had enjoyed the years he and his family had
spend there. Yes, there had been danger at times but God had protected them.
Hmm.maybe Zimbabwe wouldn't have been as bad as I thought. Actually, I've
answered God's call in my life to be a missionary/evangelist but it has been
in a different way than I ever dreamed. Who knew, but God, that the Internet
was on its way?
I found in my life and God's Word (which is the only true source of
authority) confirms that God's call is without repentance, unchanging for
your life. Yes, He may have different things during different seasons of
your life to do but He does not give up on your doing all of them. He has a
plan for your life and He is sticking to it. I first heard God's call on the
day I was saved. Nine years or so later I heard His call more clearly and
powerfully. It was more than ten years later that I answered that call. God
just does not give up. We may give up on God but He does not give up on us.
One of the very most encouraging verses in the entire Bible is Jonah 3:1,
"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go
to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.'"
God gave Jonah a second chance. Jonah did go to Nineveh and as a result,
there occurred the greatest revival in all of history. The people of a city
so large that it took three days to walk through it totally and completely
turned to God in response to the one sentence message of Jonah, "Yet forty
days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown (Jonah 3:4b)!"
God is the God of the second chance but He is also the God of opportunities
into infinity for us to turn to Him and serve Him. God's mercy is greater
than our sinful ways.
Has God been calling you? If you have said, "No," in the past to God it is
not to late to say, "Yes," now to God's call. Say, "Yes," to His call and He
will begin to bring it about.
Copyright © 2005. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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